JJStone

ok, I just picked up my 1st C5Z & im flat out stoked

01' TR with 48566 miles. completely unmolested save a new SPEC clutch, MGW Shorty & assoc parts.

but, I was a bit disappointed when I had issues shifting into 1st & then into 2nd @ high R's. Ive owned (5) C5's & always wanted a short throw but never made it. When I found out my new Z had a brand new SPEC clutch with a MGW shorty in it, damn is what I said, & then perfect. So, all the work was done by a pro & I have all the receipts for the install. Previous owner did tell me the 5th gear syncro was going. As I said had many C5s with the issue here & there, this 1 is in the earliest stages on the problem. I suppose I dont think the problems Im having with 1st & 2nd have anything to do with 5th, but im of course not sure. I deff think the MGW is built like a brick you no what & wow its pretty amazing. 2nd to 3rd & then 3rd to 4th is just wicked & I can see why MGW owners love em. I just cant see grinding into 2nd being normal what so ever, so I wondering if anyone has some insight. It does have shift skip installed, goes into Reverse with zero effort.(kinda rules out 1st & R issues ive read about with center alignment, ((Maybe))

Overall, If I double clutch and baby this sicko, it shifts ok(use'n ok loosely) & goes into 2nd if I let the R's fade a lil bit & ease into the gate. Can not be at all aggressive(4 - 5K RPM) w/ 2nd or it grinds no matter how hard I chuck it in & im even making sure im full floor'n the pedal to be sure sure of disengagement. 3rd & 4th shift like an absolute dream no matter the R's. No possible way I can down shift into 2nd at even say 25-30MPH without grinding it & looking like its the 1st time ive ever driven a manual lol From a dead stop 1st can even grind in, stop light, if I coast up and ease it in at a slow roll its meh ok.

Im leaning towards the clutch being my issue, just seems odd how good 3rd 4th & so on shift. Im lost...lol Im sure I could ramble off more bull but this is already an insane wall o' text, sorry..its awesome to finally have a Z in the garage not gonna lie. Just need to work out the lil bugs with this shift issue. Thanks a ton for any help yall can send my way.

JJStone

ill even take irresponsible speculation at this point, lol!!

JJStone

up-ski...^ ^ ^

JJStone

ahh!! this is agony!! Ive spent, ffs idk anymore trying to get a solid answer on this. Basiclly ruled out the MGW shifter & linkage. It centers great & goes into Reverse like a dream. Its my low gears only & now its a cancer, 3rd is starting to act up. Parked er' & now my search has to goto relentless, insane, drink 15 Jolt Colas, Mini's, & baaaa!! lol!! I only have 6-8 weeks left before the shrink wrap eats my car, FML!!

Spoke with Spec & really not much help. Spoke with the Dealer(insider, Service Mgr & my buddy, 20yrs as a GM tech) Since Im not getting the same problem acrossed the board, just 1,2,3. Its almost sending me to bleed it & Ive got air in the hydros. Ive seen many posts on Master Cyl & bleeding the system. But, my Tech & many other claim it to be a self bleeding system & its not ness to do it. Im not drinkn all the Koolaid, but it does make sense considering the Fluid Res location.

Its a new clutch, slave, bearing and master cyl. Also replaced the flywheel(steel). Anyone, ahh anyone, lol have a suggestion?

socci

Man I cant believe one of these forum gurus hasnt helped you out yet. I cant help you much, but I had my Z shipped to me so I never test drove it. When I got it going into second was not very smooth, it doesnt grind but its very notchy. I was pretty upset, it only had 40k miles. I changed out my tranny fluid with Royal Purple which actually helped a decent amount. Now I barely notice it, I am pretty sure I have a bent shift fork though. I can only imagine if everything was done right with the clutch install, it has to be a shift fork or something inside the tranny needs looking at.

What did your buddy and the service manager suggest?

MTPZ06

Here comes some.... just kidding.


I would change out the clutch fluid from the resevoir (unless your car has a remote bleeder)...search for the "ranger method".

I would then change the trans fluid out for some Amsoil.

Lastly, I would then play around with the shifter alignment...you can search for this procedure as well, but essentially it's trial and error. You may find smoother engagement in all gears after this procedure.

However; if your 5th synchro is on the way out, my guess is that the others will follow. The above items really aren't a lot of money to try and get a little more enjoyment out of the car before a rebuild becomes a necessity.

Yellow95

No help here, but I am in the same boat.

I've had the same problem with my car. It had the problem when I got the car with 3k miles on it and it still has the problem with 75k miles on it. Doesn't happen all the time, just most of the time and it is worse when the car is cold.

I keep the clutch fluid clean and I changed the trans fluid to royal Purple. No change.

It seems to me that the clutch may not be totally disengaging.

ipuig

Remove the inspection cover, check if the clutch plate is coming in contact with either the clutch plate or flywheel when the clutch pedal is fully depressed.

Woodytick

mine does the same thing & sometimes if i dont get it just right, it will jump out of second. i was thinking the syncro's were going bad. i'm gonna check some of these things & change out my tranny fluid like some of you said.

JJStone

thanks guys...

After much time spent going over the insane amount of awesome information/experiences of other members on the various sub forums. Its pretty much down to need'n internal gearbox work, if its shift forks, syncros or what not. From looking at the cost of the parts, it really doesnt seem cost efective to rebuild the current GB while the cars up. 1-2 or 3-4 Synco gear set alone is in the ballpark of $500. Seems like the labor or time spent just doesnt pay off, its already a ton of time as it is. Im leaning towards a rebuild with some of the later & greater addtions that trial & error has brought. My 01' trans simply wasnt that great from the info Ive come acrossed. Even though ive really got low miles on this one & the car overall was driven very conservitive from the looks. The combo of the shorty & clutch tipped the scales. I truly think the shift fork got bent by the previous owner learning to drive it all over again(little more of that irresponsible spec, ) & then it led to 3-4 fork or syncros. So yea..bummer for my 1st Z, but I still love it

The advice given here is good stuff, The 1st thing I do when I get a new 1 is follow what was suggested above with in a day or so of purchase. Ive used Royal Purple Max ATF forever now, it does make a difference. Ive kinda also stuck with Mobil 1 LS cuz I never cared for additives, but so many have had super luck with Amsoil & a few others. Just my pref. Ive personally never had issues with clutch fluid, but always change it. Prob because I really just drive to & from work & never see track/strip conditions.

Id like to have a lift @ my shop but dont yet. So getting it up & the exaust off & pulling the inspection cover takes some favors and all. I spoke with SPEC & honestly didnt get a ton. The problem really leads back again & again to the trans internally. Had my GM Tech buddy drive it Mon & he feels the same. Exactly what without taking a peek inside, not postive of course. Im still wondering if lack of a Reverse lockout(skip shift) & some mis-shifts started it on the path. Not gonna lie, the night I drove it home I missed it 2 times looking for 5th. When I spoke to the previous owner he said "yea it took a bit" Tad iffy with the MGW centering, its stiff imo. spec on a learning curve coming from a standard C5 w/stock shifter. With a little time its a great feeling shifter, im just not positive its for me & my perticular driving conditions is all. Totally a preference thing.

Overall it sucks but Its a blast to drive, so, getting it done soon & Im deff gonna peel this gearbox when I get time to see the evidence. Then have'm rebuild it at Tech. Its nice to be close

echelonphoto

I had a bad grind going from 2-3 on my 20K mile Z last spring....it happened suddenly after a couple of 1/4mile passes...no power shifting or abuse. It was internal combo of cracked blocking rings and some
syncros on the way out...had Rick in Baltimore do the rebuild and beefup...now its smoother than ever.

rag93vette

mine wasnt either it had to be replaced at 48,470 miles it had grind for 1-2 and 2-1 shifts im glad it was under warranty.

tarheel_z06

I had something like this happen to me last fall. I could not shift into 2nd at anything over 2K RPMs. I don't race my car and I don't remember even grinding the gears in the months before this happened.

I changed the tranmission fluid and nothing.

I finally went ahead and had an RPM slightly modified transmission installed with a new clutch (since my guy was already under the car). Turned out the clutch was in great shape and really didn't need to be replaced.

Bottom line, I spent about 2K on the transmission, $500K on the stock clutch and $400 for the installation of all parts. No more grind and things are running great.

I have to belive you are wasting your time if you don't think the tranny is causing the problem....

Seraphus

I'm having basically the same issues. Started grinding going into 3rd and now both 3rd and 4th grind. Reverse would pop out from the day I got it. Now i've had it not get OUT of 4th and into any other gear unitl I idle and start moving in 4th (revving the crap outta the engine and putting more stress on the trans). I'm loking at RPM transmissions now and a LS7 clutch.

It sucks that the trans of GM's halo car basically sucks *** (mine has less than 20k on it and has been babied).

401K Z06

The GM shop manual has a simple procedure for loosing the clamp that holds the shift rod , and letting it realign itself to the tranny. It requires removal of the console and center storage for access, though, which is kind of a PITA. I found it helped after my tranny was rebuilt and the tech didn't know about this.

Edmond

Definitely try aligning the shifter first. RPM has the procedure on how to do it on their website. I was popping out of first gear before doing this and haven't popped out of first since then.

If you replace the trans, go with an RPM trans. I went with the level IV and an LS7 clutch unit. The clutch is a little heavier than the stock LS6 unit, though.

And if you go that far, go with ARP bolts and new hydraulics.

PRE-Z06

Best to start with flushing the hydraulics and making sure they are properly bled. Then you can try to switching the trans fluid to see if that helps with the synchros and ensure the shifter is adjusted properly. Always be sure the clutch is fully disengaging by revving the car up in 1st with the clutch pedal depressed ensuring it doesn't creep.If it does then you found your culprit of grinding gears. Do you know if a shim was used with the Spec?

Seraphus

I've honestly tried all of these things for my 3-4 problem, ranger method, new trans fluid, new diff fluid, and it didn't make one bit of difference. I'm pretty sure my sychros are toast but I wish you better luck than I had OP.